While my first two experiences with Mayfield ice cream, Snickerdoodle and Birthday Cake, were enjoyable, they hadn't been extraordinary. The lackluster consistency and puny mix-ins left plenty of room for improvement, but the overall taste, in addition to a large sale promotion, was enough to convince me to sample another selection. Their carton of Candy Bar is described as caramel ice cream with a nougat ribbon and caramel & chocolate-coated peanuts. I've found caramel to create a very capable foundation for any flavor, so maybe Candy Bar can beat out it's Mayfield predecessors using this proven method.
At only 160 calories per serving, the beige base transfers easily from the carton to a bowl. The thick nougat ribbon and plentiful coated peanuts are easily visible, but I grab just the caramel ice cream to begin. The consistency of the previous Mayfield flavors I'd sampled had been somewhat disappointing and this was no different unfortunately. The near-weightless ice cream melted down quickly and had an odd, crumbly texture. Although the consistency wasn't improved upon in this flavor, the taste was certainly an upgrade over my prior experiences. Candy Bar suffered from the same mediocre feel as the others, but was slightly saved by it's caramel flavoring. The base begins mild and slowly faded into a sweet, buttery caramel flavor as the light ice cream broke down.
The sticky nougat swirl becomes thick at points and clings to the ice cream as I remove it with my spoon. Rather than impersonating nougat as the title claims, this came off as a simple enhancement of the base ice cream with a strong taste of caramel, nothing like the same swirl found in Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Nougat Crunch. Candy Bar is finished off with a large amount of chocolate and caramel coated peanuts. The coating on the outside of these chips off upon first contact, allowing the peanut and candy to be broken down separately, but ultimately achieving the same result. The fudge and buttery outer shells leave a rich aftertaste behind each bite they're a part of. Using the same concept that makes up many of our favorite candy bars, Mayfield tried to cash in on the same idea. It's hard to mess up when using ingredients such as caramel, nougat, chocolate and peanuts, but there are better candy-based offerings available than Mayfield's mild-mannered option.
Where I Found It: Ingles Markets
Grade: F
